1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a connector terminal to be used for electrical connection between devices mounted in an automobile and so on, and more particularly to a connector terminal to be inserted into a connector into which a board including a terminal portion at a marginal area on a surface thereof is also inserted.
2. Description of the Related Art
For instance, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2003-7369 discloses a connector into which a board including a terminal portion at a marginal area on a surface thereof is inserted.
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a terminal metal contact of the connector disclosed in the above-identified Publication, FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a housing into which the terminal metal contact is inserted, and a second connector into which the housing is to be inserted, and FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the housing and the second connector into which the housing is inserted.
A terminal metal contact 100 illustrated in FIG. 7 is assembled into a card edge connector 110, as illustrated in FIG. 8. As illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9, the card edge connector 110 is fit into a hood 121 of a second connector 120. In a condition in which the card edge connector 110 is fit into the hood 121, as illustrated in FIG. 9, a circuit board 122 is inserted at a marginal portion thereof into a fit space 112 of a housing 111, and is sandwiched between resilient contact pieces 101 of the terminal metal contacts 100 located above and below the circuit board 122, to resiliently deform the resilient contact pieces 101. Thus, the resilient contact pieces 101 make resilient contact with upper and lower surfaces of the circuit board 122 at a certain contact pressure derived from resilient recover forces thereof, and hence, make mechanical and electrical contact with a terminal portion formed at a marginal area on the surface of the circuit board 122.
The resilient piece 101 is substantially U-shaped. A substantially U-shaped semicircular portion of the resilient piece 101, when it is in a free condition in which it is not resiliently deformed, defines a contact portion 101A upwardly projecting beyond upper edges of sidewalls 102L and 102R. The contact portion 101A makes resilient contact with the upper or lower surface of the circuit board 122.
Such a connector into which the circuit board including the terminal portion at the marginal area on the surface thereof is inserted is accompanied with a problem in that if the circuit board 122 of the second connector 120 is not chamfered at front corners thereof, the contact portion 101A may be shaved at a surface thereof when the contact portion 101A of the resilient piece 101 advances onto the surface of the circuit board 122. If the contact portion 101A were shaved at the surface thereof, the contact portion 101A would make unstable contact with the circuit board 122, resulting in an increase in a contact resistance therebetween and unstable electric connection therebetween.